Four to six cataloged auctions each year

From the great masters of the Italian and German Renaissance to Cubism, including the 18th-century French school, the greatest artists are represented across all pictorial techniques: red chalk, watercolor, pastel, Indian ink... Sketches and studies are particularly prized by collectors, especially preparatory sketches for works found in museums or major collections, which allow viewers to appreciate the artist’s spontaneous expression and understand the stages of a work’s creation. Thanks to modern restoration techniques that allow for the cleaning and repair of the sheets, even damaged drawings can be easily restored.

A Word from the Expert

“During the Renaissance, the greatest artists—such as Verrocchio, Gozzoli, da Vinci, and Ghirlandaio—often used colored paper to create their preparatory studies on sheets that had been painted or dipped in a colored bath. Every shade was used at the time: pink, green, and blue; and the drawing, executed with a metal point—usually made of silver—was extremely delicate and elegant. Collectors of the time were fascinated by these sketches on prepared paper. The last time a collection of colored drawings appeared on the market was in the early 1980s. To come across one of these colored sheets today would be an extraordinary event! ”